Listen before you study the feathers
Two large black birds can look almost identical when they are high in a tree or crossing a grey sky. Sound is often easier.
The American Crow is famous for its loud, scratchy caw. It has many other sounds too, including rattles, clicks, and quieter vocalizations, but the classic caw is a good place to start.
A Common Raven often gives a much deeper croak or grunk. It can sound surprisingly resonant, almost as if the call is coming from farther back in the throat.
Not every call fits neatly into one word. Birds have repertoires, not single sound effects. Still, if one bird is cawing and the other is giving a deep croak, you already have a very good clue.
If crow calls have caught your attention, continue with why do crows caw?.
Ravens are much bigger than crows
Size sounds easy until a bird is alone against the sky. Then there is nothing nearby for scale.
An American Crow is roughly 16 to 21 inches long. A Common Raven is roughly 22 to 27 inches long and can weigh well over twice as much as a smaller crow.
A raven can look almost hawk-sized. The body feels heavier. So does the head.
When a crow and raven happen to be near each other, the difference is obvious. When they are alone, use size as one clue rather than the whole identification.
Compare the bill and throat
A raven has a serious bill. Thick. Long. Heavy.
An American Crow also has a substantial black bill, but it looks more moderate in proportion to the head. A Common Raven's bill can look almost oversized.
Then look below it. Ravens often show shaggy or loose-looking throat feathers, especially when calling. A crow's throat usually looks smoother.
That shaggy throat is a nice field mark when the light is good.
Look at the tail when the bird flies
This is one of my favourite clues because you do not need to see fine feather detail.
An American Crow usually shows a shorter tail with a rounded or squared end. A Common Raven's tail is longer and tapered, producing the wedge or diamond shape birders talk about.
Do not judge it from one awkward wingbeat. Tail feathers spread, close, twist, and change angle as a bird turns.
Watch for a few seconds. If the tail repeatedly looks long and wedge-shaped, raven moves higher on the list.
Crows and ravens fly differently
American Crows tend to use steady, workmanlike wingbeats. They can glide, of course, but their everyday flight often looks direct and methodical.
Common Ravens have longer wings and are much more likely to mix flapping with gliding and soaring. A raven can look buoyant in the air. Sometimes playful too.
On a windy day, ravens may bank, roll, and ride moving air in ways that make them look more like a small raptor than a giant crow.
Where you are can help, but it is not enough
American Crows are widespread across much of the United States and southern Canada, including cities, farmland, parks, beaches, roadsides, and open woodland.
Common Ravens are widespread across northern and western North America and also occur in parts of the northeastern United States. They use an enormous range of habitats, from coastlines and forests to mountains, tundra, desert, farms, and human settlements.
Their ranges overlap in many places.
So location can narrow the possibilities, but you should still look at the bird.
What about Fish Crows?
There is another wrinkle, especially in the eastern and southeastern United States.
Fish Crows look very similar to American Crows and are usually best separated by voice. Their calls tend to sound more nasal.
That means a black bird does not automatically give you a two-choice crow-or-raven test. Range and voice matter.
Are crows and ravens related?
Very much so.
American Crows and Common Ravens belong to the family Corvidae, along with jays, magpies, nutcrackers, and several other remarkably adaptable birds. Both are in the genus Corvus.
Related does not mean interchangeable. They are separate species with different voices, proportions, social lives, and habitat patterns.
Which is smarter, a crow or a raven?
I would not crown a winner.
Both groups have produced impressive results in research on memory, problem-solving, social learning, planning, recognition, and object use. The exact abilities studied differ by species and experiment.
Calling one simply smarter than the other turns a complicated subject into a scoreboard.
Our how smart are birds? page looks at the broader question.
Frequently asked questions
Is a raven just a big crow?
No. Common Ravens and American Crows are separate species. Ravens are bigger, but the differences also include voice, bill shape, throat feathers, tail shape, and flight style.
Do ravens say caw?
Ravens have a wide vocal repertoire and can make harsh calls, but their best-known sound is a deep croak. American Crows are the birds most associated with the classic caw.
Can crows and ravens live in the same area?
Yes. Their ranges overlap in many parts of North America, so it is possible to see both in the same general region.
Which bird has the wedge-shaped tail?
The Common Raven. An American Crow usually shows a shorter, more rounded or squared tail.
Keep following the crow questions
For full species profiles, start with American Crow and Common Raven.
Next, try what is a group of crows called?, why do crows caw?, or what do crows eat?.